Iran’s national futsal team, after accepting defeat against Japan in the final of 16th edition of the Asian Futsal Cup, failed to repeat the championship title in this competition, and Japanese team won the cup for 4th time.
The final match of the 16th Asian Futsal Championship was held between the two powerful teams of Iran and Japan, and in the end, it was the Japanese team that won the championship title.
In this match, which was held at the Saad Al-Abdullah Sport Hall Complex in Kuwait at 20:30 (local time), Japan defeated Iran, the most honored team of Asia, 3-2 and crowned the title of championship.
In this edition of the competitions, Iran national futsal team reached the final without losing and lost against Japan.
Iran trounced Vietnam in the quarterfinal of AFC Futsal Asian Cup 8-1 on Tuesday.
In the semi-final, Iran National Futsal Team defeated Thailand 5-0.
Final Match Report of AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2022
Iran, who had scored 37 goals en route to reaching the final, started as aggressively as ever with Hossein Tayebi and Alireza Rafiei Pour making early attempts at goal.
As head coach Kenichiro Kogure had anticipated, Japan were forced to play defence against Iran’s incessant pressure, with their best chances coming from counter-attacks and set-pieces.
Japan captain Arthur Oliveira, however, nearly stunned the defending champions in the eighth minute when his attempt off Soma Mizutani’s pass rocked the crossbar.
Iran almost paid a price again for their aggression a minute later after committing a foul at the edge of the box, but Oliveira’s free-kick was superbly saved by Saied Momeni.
Iran, however, continued to play their style of attacking futsal and after 15 minutes of testing Guilherme Kuromoto, Saied Ahmad Abbasi collected Mahdi Karimi’s pass and let loose a superb shot into the bottom right corner to open the scoring.
Japan, the only other team to have won the AFC Futsal Asian Cup, were unfazed and drew level a minute later when Mohammedhossein Derakhshani failed to intercept Kuromoto’s long-range throw into the final third, allowing Kazuya Shimizu to equalise with a brilliant right-footed shot.
Iran looked to close the first half strongly but Tayebi and Abbasi’s efforts were denied by Kuromoto’s quick reflexes as both sides entered the halftime break with the title still very much up for grabs.
Iran’s waves of attacks continued in the opening minutes of the second half with Abbasi and Moslem Oladghobad forcing parries out of Kuromoto in the opening minutes but Rafiei Pour’s foul on Shimizu in the 27th minute gave Japan a lifeline.
Oliveira stepped up to take the free-kick and the skipper made no mistake as he smashed his effort home to put Japan ahead for the first time.
The goal stunned Iran – who had only conceded two goals in their previous five matches – into action as they increased the intensity of their attacks in search of the equaliser.
Iran would have equalised moments later through Abbasi’s strike if it weren’t for Kuromoto’s fine save, with the keeper standing tall against Salar Aghapour’s effort in the 29th minute to maintain Japan’s lead.
With the clock ticking, Iran head coach Vahid Shamsaee employed power play for the first time in Iran’s campaign with Tayebi donning the keeper’s jersey in the 36th minute.
Tayebi came closest in the 39th minute with his strike deflecting off the upright but there was to be more woe for Iran with Abbasi slotting the ball into the back of his own net in the final 30 seconds.
Iran pulled one back through Alireza Javan Shahkali with a second left on the clock but it was meant to be Japan’s final to celebrate.
Oladghobad scoops Most Valuable Player Award
Iran’s Moslem Oladghobad was named the AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ Kuwait 2022 Most Valuable Player on Saturday.
Oladghobad, famed for his precision passing, helped Iran garner wins over Indonesia (6-0), Chinese Taipei (10-1) and Lebanon (9-0) with the 26-year-old scoring twice in the group stage.
The forward found the net once in Iran’s 8-1 quarter-final win over Vietnam before scoring twice in the semi-final against Thailand.
Although Iran were denied a record-extending 13th title by Japan, Oladghobad’s quality was for all to enjoy and admire throughout Kuwait 2022.
AFC congratulates Tayebi on receiving Yili Top Scorer award
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) congratulated Iran’s futsal captain Hossein Tayebi on receiving the Yili Top Scorer award at the 16th edition of the Asian Futsal Cup.
According to Asian Football Confederation (AFC) website on Saturday, the skipper –Tayebi – displayed an amazing performance, scoring 10 goals in six matches as Iran finished runners-up to Japan after a pulsating final.
AFC describes Tayebi’s performance as follows:
The award is a testament to Tayebi’s talent and determination, as he has maintained the fine performance that also saw him picking up the Top Scorer Award in the 2014 and 2018 editions.
The 34-year-old scored six goals in the group stage to help Iran finish top in Group C, before netting a hat-trick against Vietnam in the quarter-finals.
Tayebi then followed it up with a first-minute goal against Thailand in the semi-final that laid the foundation for a 5-0 win.
Accordingly, the AFC’s official Twitter account released a poster of the Iranian captain congratulating him on the award.
Earlier, Iran’s national futsal team, after accepting defeat against Japan in the final of the 16th edition of the Asian Futsal Cup, failed to repeat the championship title in this competition, and the Japanese team won the cup for the 4th time.
